Medicare 2026

Before Dec. 7: your Columbus Medicare moves for 2027

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Fall 2026 brings the one stretch of the year when most people on Medicare can freely reshape their coverage. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any change you make takes effect January 1, 2027.

If you live in Columbus and you are happy with your current plan, you do not have to do anything — your plan will renew for 2027 if it is being offered again. But this is the window to compare, and in Franklin County there is a lot to compare: CMS lists 92 Medicare Advantage plans from 12 carriers for the 2026 plan year, and the 2027 lineup has shifts worth checking.

What you can actually change between Oct. 15 and Dec. 7

The Annual Enrollment Period, often called AEP, is broad. During this window you can:

• Join a Medicare Advantage plan for the first time, if you have Parts A and B.
• Switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another.
• Drop a Medicare Advantage plan and go back to Original Medicare (Parts A and B).
• Join a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan, switch to a different one, or drop drug coverage.

You can make more than one change in the window — your last choice before December 7 is the one that takes effect on January 1, 2027.

A separate period, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, runs January 1 – March 31, 2027. That one is narrower: if you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1, you get one chance to switch to another Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare (with a Part D plan if you want drug coverage).

If you do nothing

Nothing dramatic happens. Your current plan simply renews for 2027 if the carrier is offering it again. What may change is inside the plan — the premium, the deductible, the drug list, the provider network, or extra benefits.

Your plan has already mailed, or will soon mail, an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC). Read it. For 2027 in Franklin County, CMS data shows 27 plans are not returning, 14 are new, and 5 have been renamed. If your plan is one of the ones leaving, you will get a non-renewal letter and a Special Enrollment Period to pick something else.

The 2027 numbers that are already set

A few Part D figures for 2027 are confirmed by CMS:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026).
• Part D national base beneficiary premium: $41.33 for 2027 — this is a formula input used to set late-enrollment penalties, not what any specific plan charges.

The coverage gap, the old "donut hole," remains gone — Part D has three phases now. The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets you spread drug costs across the calendar year in monthly amounts instead of paying at the pharmacy counter, continues in 2027. You opt in through your drug plan.

Two things are not yet announced: the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA (high-income) brackets and surcharges. CMS typically releases those in the fall, usually in November. We will not estimate them here — check medicare.gov when they post.

The Columbus picture

Columbus sits in Franklin County, and Medicare Advantage and Part D availability is set at the county level. For the 2026 plan year, CMS lists 92 Medicare Advantage plans in Franklin County from 12 carriers: Aetna (CVS Health), CareSource MyCare Ohio, Centene (WellCare), Devoted Health, Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Medical Mutual of Ohio, MediGold, Molina Healthcare of Ohio, Perennial Advantage, The Health Plan, and UnitedHealthcare. All 92 include drug coverage, and 30 are Special Needs Plans for people with specific conditions, dual Medicare-Medicaid eligibility, or who live in institutional settings.

Franklin County shows 0 stand-alone Part D plans in the 2026 landscape data — stand-alone drug coverage is typically paired with Original Medicare, while people on Advantage plans here get drug coverage built in. If you take Original Medicare and need Part D, use the Medicare Plan Finder to see which stand-alone plans are available to you.

The table below lists every plan offered in Franklin County, with carrier and plan type.

How to decide

There is no single "right" choice — the best fit depends on your doctors, your prescriptions, your travel habits, and your budget. A few questions worth answering before you compare:

1. Are your doctors and hospitals in the plan's network for 2027? Networks can change year to year. 2. Are your prescriptions on the plan's drug list, and in what tier? The ANOC and formulary tell you. 3. Do you travel or spend part of the year outside Ohio? HMO, PPO and PFFS plans treat out-of-area care differently. 4. Would Original Medicare plus a Medigap policy and a stand-alone Part D plan fit you better? Medigap pricing and underwriting rules in Ohio depend on when you first enrolled.

The Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov lets you plug in your ZIP code and your drug list and see each plan's 2027 costs side by side.

Where to get free, unbiased help in Columbus

You do not have to figure this out alone, and you do not have to talk to an agent to get answers.

• OSHIIP — Ohio's State Health Insurance Information Program, the official SHIP for Ohio, offers free one-on-one counseling. Call 1-800-686-1578 or visit insurance.ohio.gov/oshiip.
• Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging (COAAA) serves Franklin and surrounding counties and can connect you to local benefits counselors. Call 614-645-7250.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) is open 24/7.
• medicare.gov has the official Plan Finder and the current rules.

Public libraries and senior centers around Columbus often host OSHIIP counselors in person during AEP — call ahead to find a session near you.